Harvest home-grown vegetables properly

12:42 AM,
Jun. 6, 2014

June is the peak month for harvesting early-summer vegetables. One reason people grow their own vegetables is for the outstanding quality of freshly harvested produce. Harvesting at the right stage, however, is essential to getting the best quality vegetables from your garden.

Written by

Dan Gill
LSU AgCenter Horticulturist

June is the peak month for harvesting early-summer vegetables. One reason people grow their own vegetables is for the outstanding quality of freshly harvested produce. Harvesting at the right stage, however, is essential to getting the best quality vegetables from your garden.

It's important to understand that some vegetables are harvested while still immature, including eggplants, summer squash, cucumbers, okra and snap beans. Do not leave these vegetables on the plant too long, or quality will quickly decline.